School of Hard Knocks
by Gatewalker
Summary: Set twenty years after Street Fighter IV. Sakura Kasugano, now a world famous street fighter in her own right, has finally managed to open her own school where she trains a batch of talented students to be the next great Street Fighters! Ch. 3 is up.
1. Chapter 1: A New Challenger!

Chapter 1: A New Challenger!

_Author's Note: Some quick notes about my writing style. Italics within the main body of text are thoughts of whoever the current PoV character is, though I also put Author's notes and footnotes in italics. Linebreaks are used between sections to denote a change in scene or a change in PoV within a scene. Should be easy enough to follow, so long as you know what it means. That said, enjoy the first chapter!_

* * *

Sakura Kasugano stifled a yawn as she made the early morning walk from her modest little house to her dojo down the street. Her dojo. The thought still made her smile even now, a full year after it opened and she accepted her first students. It had taken her several years to save up the money, and construction seemed to be cursed for a bit as nearly anything that could go wrong did, but she didn't give up and eventually it happened. The World Warrior Fighting School opened for business, and Sakura did her damndest to teach her students not only her own fighting style, but tricks and bits of styles picked up from her long career of street fighting all over the world.

Her smile grew wider as she reached the dojo and found the little surprise she had for her advanced students already nervously waiting for her out front.

Approaching the young woman, Sakura cleared her throat as she walked closer so she wouldn't startle her and offered her a smile, "You must be Qiao Ran, yes?"

The girl startled anyway, nearly jumping a bit as Sakura spoke, then spinning to face her and bowing rapidly, "Ah, yes! Um, and you are Kasugano-sensei, yes? I am very pleased to be here!"

It was hard not to break out laughing at the girl's unique combination of enthusiasm and anxiety, but Sakura managed it anyway. Being laughed at would probably crush the poor thing. Holding up a hand to forestall anymore bowing, she nodded, "And I'm very pleased to have you. Any young talent that Chun Li thinks highly enough of to pay their entire tuition out of her own pocket is more then welcome here. I'm very interested to see how you match up against my advanced students," then she quirked a half smile as she added, "and hoping you'll be able to shake them up a touch. They've been patting themselves on the back a great deal lately."

Ran's eyes widened a bit as Sakura spoke, and as soon as her sensei finished, she started nodding repeatedly, "Um, I hope that I will live up to your expectations, Kasugano-sensei."

Sakura shook her head, "You can relax a bit, we're fairly informal here. Simply sensei will do as an address. And no matter what Shiro and Julian might tell you, we don't have rankings among the students. At least none any more strict then beginner and advanced."

Ran continued nodding like a shaken bobblehead, causing Sakura to wonder if this was normal behavior for her or if she had just had too much caffeine and sugar this morning. _Well,_ she thought, _Chun Li's letter did say that she was 'somewhat eccentric'. ...though to be fair those words could sum up my entire advanced class, so I'm sure she'll fit in just fine._

"Come on," Sakura gestured for the girl to follow as she walked towards the door, "let's get you settled in first, then I'll want to see what you've got before I throw you in with the others."

Qiao Ran grabbed her one bag that had been sitting next to her and took a deep centering breath before following her new teacher into her new home.

* * *

"Alright," Sakura settled down in her little folding chair with a nice cup of green tea that the housekeeper had ready for her and nodded to her newest student, "why don't you go through a set of the normal exercises you use so I can see what you're capable of?"

Having changed into her fighting uniform as soon as she put her things away, Ran nodded once sharply at her teacher's instruction, and began her routine.

As Ran started with the basics, stretching and simple forms, Sakura sized up her newest student. The girl was quite small, not even breaking five feet and being rather slender to match. Though in her skintight combat dress, the fact that she had muscle was quite obvious. Sakura noted in particular the muscles in her legs and the power in her kicks.

"Go through that series of kicks again," Sakura instructed her, guessing quickly that kicks were her specialty and wanting to see them a bit more in depth.

Ran nodded and repeated the form as instructed.

Sakura smirked as she recognized a couple of the moves, _Well, well. More then a passing resemblance to her style. I've been hit by a few of those kicks before. _

"So," Sakura asked almost conversationally while Ran was doing her kicks, "Just how long did Chun Li train you before sending you to me?"

The sudden question made Ran stumble and blink a bit in surprise, "Ah, um, a-a couple of years..."

Sakura shook her head and tsked, "Bad form. Don't let distractions, even direct questions from me, get in the way of the moves. Lots of street fighters like to banter while fighting, including some of my other students. If you'd been sparring instead of just doing forms there..." she let the implication hang in the air.

Her student blushed and bowed, bobbing her head nervously again, "I apologize!"

"You don't need to apologize for mistakes," Sakura half smiled as she chided, "just don't make them again. Anyway," she changed the subject a bit, "were you her only student? I hadn't heard that she'd opened a school or started taking students again."

Ran hesitated, then nodded shyly.

Sakura hid her interest in that revelation by taking a sip of her tea, _Interesting. She must have seen something really special in this one. She may be able to keep up with the three goons I've got now afterall. And, _she thought with a carefully concealed twinkle of amusement in her eye, _I think I understand why she sent the girl to me in the first place now. _

After a moment, she waved Ran to continue her forms, noting with interest just how many of Chun Li's moves that she knew. Once the workout was finished, Sakura let her student cool down a bit before standing up and smiling at her, "Well, that tells me what I need to know. You'll fit in here just fine I think."

Ran, still trying to catch her breath, let a visible sigh of relief escape and a small smile show as she bobbed her head.

"There is, however," Sakura continued, "one very important piece of business we need taken care of before you do any real fighting."

Suddenly worried again, Ran's face clouded up as she hesitated a long moment before cautiously asking, "Ah...what...what is the problem?"

Sakura smiled, "We're going to have to get you some new uniforms. I don't want you wearing blue, and something less blatantly Chinese might be a good idea as well."

This only seemed to confuse the girl further, "What's wrong with my uniform?"

"I'll explain later," Sakura chuckled, then turned to walk out of the room, motioning for Ran to follow, "there's nothing we can do about it today anyway. For now, let's introduce you to your roommate and have her show you around. You won't have any duties today since you just got here, but Paulette can tell you what will be expected of you in the future. There will, however, be a class tonight at seven. Make sure you're ready."

* * *

Qiao Ran didn't quite know what to make of this whole situation. Though she'd not even been at Sakura's dojo an entire day, she could already tell that this was going to be very different then the private instruction her mother had given her.

_Adopted mother._ She chided herself. Even after everything Chun Li had done for her, taking her in, training her and even adopting her as a daughter, it felt wrong to call the woman 'mother'. Not because she had anything but the utmost respect and even affection for Chun Li herself, but because it somehow felt like that would be the first step to forgetting her real mother.

Sighing a bit at herself, Ran put such unworthy thoughts from her head and looked around the room she was waiting in, _My room now,_ she reminded herself, hoping to get some sense of who her roommate might be.

Unfortunately, there's wasn't very much to go by. The other side of the room was barely more decorated then Ran's...and she hadn't even unpacked yet. Aside from the bed(with drawers that pulled out from the bottom), nightstand and small writing desk that were on both sides of the room, her roommate's half also had a pair of dark green boxing gloves hanging from a nail on the wall, a stuffed dinosaur of some kind sitting on the bed, and a pair of books on the desk. That was it. _The stuffed animal is cute at least_, Ran smiled a bit at the thought as she looked at the toy from her spot on her own bed.

As she was doing so, the door opened, and Ran naturally turned to look at the person who entered...and her eyes widened a bit as she looked up at her roommate.

The young woman in the doorway was easily six feet tall, maybe a bit over, and was no beanpole either as she carried a fair bit of obvious muscle on her frame. She didn't look masculine at all though, despite her size. That may have been due to the somewhat feminine curls her reddish-brown hair was forming into even when wet, but was more likely because she was wearing a fuzzy pink bathrobe.

The woman looked down at Ran and blinked a couple of times. Then looked at Ran's bag sitting on the bed next to her and nodded her head in comprehension, speaking in a fairly pleasant English accent, "Ah well, couldn't keep a room to myself forever I suppose. And to tell the truth I'd rather have another girl around then a room to myself." Then the large woman paused a moment before adding, "Well, besides Miss Kasugano of course. She hardly counts, being the instructor and all."

Ran nodded, and attempted to introduce herself but for some reason the words that came out of her mouth were not at all the ones she intended, "...you're huge..."

The other woman gave Ran a fairly flat look as she responded, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Actually, I'm Paulette. 'Huge' is quite specifically on that list of things I don't answer to, right up there with giant woman, white girl and Brit."

Of course no sooner had Ran realized she said that, then she turned bright red with embarrassment, which only got worse with Paulette's reply. Managing to open her mouth again, she attempted to stammer out an apology, but was cut off by her roommate.

"Out." Paulette gestured to the door, "I need to change, then you can try that again."

"I..." Ran stuttered, then bobbed her head a couple of times and ducked out of the room past Paulette. As soon as the door closed behind her, she buried her head in her hands and felt like the biggest idiot in the world. _I can't believe I SAID that!_

Unfortunately things like that had been a problem for her for as long as she could remember. It never really bothered Chun Li at all, which was one of the many reasons Qiao Ran adored her adoptive mother, but no amount of training or focus or anything had ever been able to cure her compulsive foot-in-mouth nature anytime she was the least bit stressed. Or even just not paying full attention when she wasn't stressed. Frankly, she considered herself lucky that she hadn't done it to Kasugano-sensei yet, but offending her roommate at her first meeting really wasn't much better.

After a long moment, with Ran quietly fretting in the hall the entire time, Paulette opened the door back up, now dressed in a simple shirt and sweats combo instead of the bathrobe. Taking one look at the girl in the hallway, Paulette could only chuckle, "God above, you're STILL blushing?"

This, of course, only made Ran turn more red as she quickly bobbed a bow and stammered out her apology, "I...I'm so very very sorry! I didn't...sometimes...my mouth, it just...I..."

At this point, it had gone from amusing Paulette to actually making her a touch uncomfortable. She held up a hand to forestall any more apologizing and insisted, "It's alright. I get worse from the boys all the time, so don't worry about it." Moving out of the doorway, she waved Ran into the room, "Come on in. So let's start over on that, hmm? I'm Paulette, ah Paulette Tamlin, since people seem to care about family names quite a bit around these parts. And I'm from England if you couldn't tell from the accent. You?"

Accepting the invitation, Ran scooted into the room and settled back on her bed. As Paulette introduced herself, she nodded along and then followed suit, "Ah, I am Qiao Ran. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Paulette mused for a moment over that, before asking, "That doesn't sound like a Japanese name. I take it you aren't local either?"

"Chinese," Ran confirmed for her.

"Ah, yeah that sounds about right. Sorry, I still have trouble telling people from this bit of the world apart at a glance. Haven't been here that long yet."

Ran just nodded politely. She really didn't have any idea how to respond to that line.

Fortunately, Paulette didn't seem to be waiting for one, and just moved on to the next topic, "So, now that introductions are out of the way, I guess I'm supposed to show you around? That's what Miss Kasugano had Shiro do for Julian when he first got here anyway."

"Ah, yes." Ran relaxed a bit, getting back into territory she was a bit more comfortable and familiar with: duties and obligations. "Sensei said that you would inform me of what will be expected of me here."

Paulette nodded, then grabbed a hair band off of her nightstand and began pulling her hair back into a short ponytail while she explained, "Right. Well, there's not overly much to be honest. She wants the four of us, the advanced class, to focus on our training more then anything else. We have to keep our rooms clean, as well as the practice room that we use. And if we break anything we have to either help fix it, or do enough chores to make up for it if it just needs to be replaced."

As Paulette trailed off, Ran blinked at her, a bit perplexed, "That's...all?"

"Well, for chores and such, yes." Paulette continued, "We have a housekeeper employed here that handles meals for the five of us that live here, and she does most of the cleaning as well. There is one more thing we do, but," she shrugged, "whether it's a responsibility or simply another aspect of training is up for debate."

"Oh?" Ran prompted, "What?"

"Simple," her roommate grinned, "We're Miss Kasugano's assistants, we help her teach the casuals. Uh," Paulette corrected herself, "the beginner class. We call them the casuals, but she doesn't care for that term, so we don't use it when she's around. Anyway, that's basically it. Julian considers it a chore, I think it's training though. And Shiro..." Paulette shook her head, "well, you'll find out how he is with them eventually I suppose."

Ran thought that sounded rather...ominous. "Um, so are the four of us the only advanced students?"

Paulette nodded, "Yeah. It's you and me, then Shiro and Julian." The large woman paused a moment and appraised her roommate, then added, "Just to give you a heads up, Julian's a horndog and will probably start hitting on you ten seconds after he meets you. Don't let him sweet talk you into thinking you're special though, he comes onto anyone that's female, legal and at least vaguely attractive."

There was a bit of acid in Paulette's voice as she delivered that warning, which didn't go unmissed by Ran. She was getting less and less sure that she wanted to be here by the minute. "The boys...don't sound like very nice people."

Paulette sighed a bit as Ran said that, and softened her expression, "They're not that bad. I've just got a bad habit of only talking about the bad things. Julian's actually a nice guy most of the time, very laid back. Just..."

"Still a horndog?" Ran finished, involuntarily blushing as she said the word.

Fortunately, Paulette didn't comment on the blush and just nodded, "Exactly. And Shiro...well, he's a hardheaded, aggressive little prick. Violence is basically his first resort to any problem. And he's good enough at it that he doesn't need a second one."

Ran tried not to blanche at the idea of working with someone like that, "You make him sound like some kind of common thug..."

"Oh, God no!" Paulette barked out a laugh, which nearly startled poor Ran into jumping, "Thank all the powers that be, there's nothing common about his thuggery. I'm not sure the world could handle two of him. But," she shrugged, "even he's not all bad. I can't really put into words what makes the little arse tolerable, though. You'll just have to meet him for yourself."

_...my classmates are a pervert, a thug and a gian...er, Paulette, _now Ran did actively turn a bit pale as she thought, _what HAVE I gotten myself into?_

"Anyway," Paulette stood up and went for the door, "there's not too much to see here, but I may as well show you around, right?"

Getting her expression back under control, Ran stood as well and bobbed her head repeatedly at the invitation, "Um, okay."

* * *

The tour hadn't taken very long, and Ran even had time to get a very small bite to eat before the advanced class started for the night. She had to admit, she was anxious. Kasugano-sensei had said that she should fit in, but after hearing about the others from Paulette she wasn't so sure about that. _Am I sure I even want to fit in with people like this? _

But she kept her doubts to herself. She owed it to her adoptive mother to at least try, since she went to such trouble to send Ran here. So she kept quiet and tried to focus herself as she followed Paulette to the dojo.

When they arrived, the two boys and Kasugano-sensei were already inside. Ran felt a little awkward being the last one to arrive, but set that aside and bowed politely as she entered. She could tell that the two boys were sizing her up already, which was only to be expected. Ran hadn't been part of a class before, especially not one like this, but she at least knew enough to expect rivalry and competition. So she sized them up right back.

The taller one, a dark haired Latino man...and handsome, she had to admit, seemed to be the only one dressed in a proper karate gi, and was also the only one wearing padded knuckle-guards. As she looked him over, he noticed her attention and flashed her a confident smile...and Ran had to stop herself from blushing a bit. _That has to be Julian._

_Which makes you Shiro._ She turned her attention to the smaller man, though smaller was kind of an understatement. He was barely larger then Ran herself, and she was a bit short even for a woman. Even more odd was how normal, even a bit geeky, he looked. The simple loose fitting sweatpants and t-shirt didn't look particularly appropriate for a karate dojo, but they didn't look like something a street tough would wear either. And the thick glasses didn't help at all.

Without thinking, she looked over at Paulette a bit incredulously and asked, "That's the violent thug? He's so tiny!"

* * *

Sakura's eyebrows went up into her hairline at what Qiao Ran just said, and then she tried so hard not to start laughing as the girl seemed to realize it a moment later, clapping her hands over her mouth and turning red.

Beside her, Sakura could hear Julian starting to snicker, but she paid him no mind at the moment. Instead, she turned her attention to Paulette(who at least had the good grace to look a touch embarrassed), and stated, "I see you've been filling our new student in about her classmates, Paulette."

"Ah..." Paulette hedged a bit as she avoided meeting Sakura's eyes, "I was just..."

"Just speaking ill of your peers when they weren't there to defend themselves." Sakura finished for her. Sighing a bit, she shook her head and proceeded with a short lecture, keeping her voice calm but firm, "I know we're more informal here then at any school you've been to previously, but there are some things I still expect from you. You won't manage to learn anything here if you can't manage simple respect, not just for me as your teacher but also for each other."

Paulette looked down a bit, and Sakura could see that her words were having the desired effect. The girl wasn't actually mean spirited, she was just overly negative and liked to gossip. Sakura knew that she did respect the other students, but it wasn't always clear with how she acted.

Letting half of a small smile show, she softly continued with the lecture, "I'm not going to ask that the four of you think nothing but good of each other, or even act like you get along all the time. You'll be spending entirely too much time together for things to always be smooth. So while Ran may end up with some negative opinions of the boys, and you as well I'm sure, I do expect you to let them earn it themselves."

"I'm sorry." Paulette's voice was soft, but sincere as she apologized. Though she still hadn't met her teacher's eyes.

Sakura shook her head, "I'm not the one you should apologize to."

Deflating a bit, Paulette hesitated before looking over towards Shiro...but Sakura's oldest student just snorted at the implication, "Save it."

Ignoring Paulette entirely, Shiro just moved on from that entire conversation and addressed his teacher directly, "So what's the deal with the new girl? Not making her test up from casuals?"

Sakura sighed again. She didn't like that term for her beginner class, but getting Shiro not to use it had thus far proven impossible. But this wasn't the time to argue with him about it yet again, so she just shook her head, "Not with her background, no." She quite intentionally didn't elaborate on the background just yet, and though she could see the curious looks Julian and Paulette were giving both her and Ran, she left it at that.

Shiro, however, just nodded and accepted it at face value. "So," he asked, "what are we doing today then?"

"A match," Sakura answered, walking over to her little folding chair and having a seat, "I saw what Qiao Ran can do in practice earlier, but that's not the same thing as a real fight. Especially not a real street fight."

At this point, Ran seemed to have gotten herself back under control, and bobbed her head at Sakura's words like she'd been expecting that. _She probably was, she seems to be a smart girl. _Then she smiled a bit as she noticed Ran's gaze drifting between the other three students. _And now she's serious. Good. This should be interesting._

* * *

Ran centered herself as her sensei mentioned a match. It was the obvious thing to do really. Her adoptive mother had mentioned quite often that there was a big difference between being able to do something in practice and being able to do it for real.

_But which one?_ Ran slowly flicked her eyes towards the other students, considering how she might match up against each in turn. _Paulette's big. And I thought she was a boxer, but she's not wearing those boxing gloves at all. I wonder what she does, then? Whatever it is, I'll need to be quick to stay out of her reach while still being able to attack. Julian seems the most classically trained, but in what? Shotokan? Saikyo? And Shiro... _Ran took a moment to consider her third potential opponent,_ I have no idea what he does, but Paulette says that he's good. Hmph, I just don't know enough about them._

But even as she thought that, she recognized the same kind of expression on all of their faces. They didn't know enough about her either. It wasn't just her that would be facing something strange and unknown. The thought calmed her down a bit. She wouldn't be going into this with a disadvantage, both her and her opponent, whoever it was, were equally ignorant of the other. _That must be what sensei had in mind all along._

* * *

Sakura let them all stew for a moment on that, giving them time to mentally prepare themselves. She already knew who she was going to pick, if she wanted to see Ran fight at full power there was only one option, but she wanted the other two to get serious and settled anyway. Even if they weren't fighting, that didn't mean they couldn't learn from the fight afterall.

"Shiro." She finally spoke, breaking the building silence and intensity, "you'll be Ran's first opponent. Julian, Paulette, you two have a seat and pay attention."

Paulette and Julian looked at each other for a moment, then simultaneously nodded and moved to the side of the room to sit against the wall and watch the fight.

Shiro rolled his neck around a bit and cracked his knuckles, "Rules?"

"Official street fight, freestyle tournament rules." Sakura replied, then looked over at her newest student, "Ran, are you familiar with those rules?"

The girl nodded once sharply, then moved to take her place opposite Shiro.

"Alright then." Sakura leaned forward in her chair, resting her elbows on her knees before adding one more bit of instruction before calling a start to the match, "And Ran? Don't hold back. If you don't fight him with everything you have, you will get hurt."

Ran blinked at her a bit, but quickly turned her attention back to Shiro, who's focused expression was making it very clear that Sakura wasn't kidding. He wouldn't underestimate her. He made that mistake once before with Paulette, and Shiro wasn't one to make the same mistake twice.

Satisfied that they were ready, Sakura spoke the words they were waiting for, "Round one. Fight!"

* * *

_Next time, on School Of Hard Knocks: Shiro Asakura vs Qiao Ran! _


	2. Chapter 2: Qiao Ran vs Shiro Asakura

Chapter 2 - Qiao Ran vs. Shiro Asakura

_Author's Note: And we have our first fight scene! Please be warned, I like to view a fight from multiple angles and thus there will be quite alot of linebreaks as I change viewpoints constantly. Hopefully that adds to the scene instead of destracting from it. Feel free to leave a comment in review form either way if you feel strongly enough about it to say something._

* * *

Qiao Ran raised her hands into a ready position as her sensei called a start to the match, but she made no moves just yet. She didn't know enough about her opponent to commit to an attack just yet. So she studied him while sliding into a defensive stance to ready herself for his attack instead.

Of course, she noted with a very slight frown, Shiro was doing the same. Still, even how he readied himself to defend told her something. He was doing his best to take his already small frame and make an even smaller target of it, knees slightly bent, back slightly hunched forward, with his arms held in front to guard both his center of mass and his face. It reminded her of a some boxing stances, which confirmed her suspicion that he would favor his fists over his feet for attacking.

What confused her though, is that he did not remove his glasses prior to the match. Was his vision truly so bad that he needed to wear those even during combat? It seemed a fairly obvious weakness, if so. But was it one she wanted to strike at? While certainly allowable under the freestyle rules they were operating under, it wasn't exactly sporting. And sportsmanship was important to her, just as it was important to her adoptive mother. Ran just imagined Chun Li hearing that her first match was won because she went for a questionable strategy like that and almost shuddered. She wouldn't be angry of course. Just disappointed...which was honestly worse.

Somehow, Ran's reflexes kicked in at the last second, ducking and quickly hopping to the side to avoid Shiro's rushing punch that she hadn't even seen coming because she had allowed herself to get distracted.

Snapping herself back into the fight, Ran felt a rising disgust with herself for letting her mind wander. She could see it in Shiro's eyes as well, he knew she'd let her concentration lapse and his face held nothing but contempt for her inattention.

Forsaking defense, Qiao Ran chided herself as she hastily launched into a counterattack to try and regain some footing, _Focus, Ran!_

* * *

Shiro fell back a bit, easily blocking or dodging his opponents rapid kicks. It wasn't a bad move, all things considered, since it was clearly just designed to force him into the defensive instead of being a real attempt at landing a scoring blow. The girl recovered fast, he'll give her that. But she needed to if spacing out during a fight was a regular thing for her.

With a half grunt, Shiro blocked another kick, then yet another, taking a step back to avoid being knocked off balance by the blows. Which he knew was exactly what she wanted. Her pressure was good, he wasn't being given any room to do anything besides block and retreat unless he wanted to get knocked for a loop. And he would too, her kicks had a hell of a lot of force behind them. Which made her little lapse there all the more confusing. _How the fuck does a girl with this kind of skill make stupid mistakes like that?_

He didn't dwell on it, though. That was something to think about after the fight. Right now, he needed to do something about the pressure she was piling on. He could retreat, just jump back and give her the space she wanted. Wouldn't really be a bad move on his part either, but it just wasn't Shiro's style. He wanted to _break_ her attacks, not just avoid them.

A moment later he saw his chance. Qiao Ran snapped her foot out again, one more blow in a series of rapid fire kicks, but this time Shiro did not step back as he blocked. Instead, he focused himself and pressed forward even as he pushed her foot to the side. Amazingly, Ran kept her balance and quickly brought her hands up to intercept the attack she thought was coming...but her head wasn't what Shiro was aiming for.

Quickly, before she could manage to retreat or counter, Shiro pushed in further until he was practically right up against her and dug his open hands into the upper part of her gut, just beneath her ribs...and then he shoved as hard as he could. It was a crude move, belonging to no formalized 'style' Shiro had ever practiced, but an effective one all the same. Nobody who thought they were facing a well trained martial artist ever expected such a base maneuver, and it caught Ran off guard just as he expected it to. With the strength he had put into the push, the small girl went flying backwards.

* * *

Ran hit the ground hard, but ignored the pain and quickly sprang back to her feet to try and defend herself against Shiro's follow up...which never came. Rather then charge in to press his advantage, her opponent chose to hang back and catch his breath. She inwardly winced a bit. Creating space is what she had been going for with her attacks, but she was intending to get it by his retreating, not by getting flung across the room herself.

Shiro's unorthodox throw had hardly been a decisive strike, but it still put him at an advantage that Ran didn't want him to be at. It also meant she lost the first real exchange of the fight, which wasn't exactly the competence she was hoping to show her sensei and peers.

As she had that thought, Ran almost instinctively tried to steal a glance at Kasugano-sensei to see her expression, but locked down the impulse and kept her attention on her opponent. It was allowing herself to be distracted that put her in this disadvantageous position in the first place, after all.

Considering Shiro's style thus far, Ran had an idea of how to surprise him and get the upper hand. Though she felt a bit guilty about holding it back, Ran hadn't shown her sensei everything she could do during that earlier practice. She had kept one trick up her sleeve for later, and this seemed the time for it. _Don't hold back,_ she remembered Kasugano-sensei's instructions before the match, _fight with everything I have. Here it goes then._

* * *

Sakura cast a critical eye on her two students as they fought, carefully observing every movement and maneuver for weaknesses in their styles. Of course she was paying more attention to Qiao Ran then to Shiro this time. It wasn't that she already knew his moves or that he couldn't surprise her, like all her students he was altering and refining his technique all the time, but she had gotten the feeling that little Ran hadn't quite shown her everything she had before. When someone's been fighting as many years as Sakura has, they get fairly good at telling when someone's holding back.

Sparing a quick glance to her side, Sakura noted with satisfaction that Julian and Paulette were focused on the fight as well. _Or at least on half of it_, she suppressed a sigh as she noted that Julian seemed to be ignoring Shiro entirely. _He could just be trying to get a feel for her moves since he's already familiar with Shiro. I'll just keep telling myself that. _

Her attention shifted back to the fight as Ran began to move forward, and she narrowed her focus towards her newest student's movements, waiting to see what she would do to try and take the advantage from Shiro.

* * *

As Ran lunged in, she saw Shiro draw his right arm back, preparing to meet her attack with one of his own. Ever so slightly, she smiled. He was taller then her, true. In fact, she was the only person in the room he was taller then. But that didn't mean he had a longer reach then she did.

Quickly pausing her momentum just outside of his range, Qiao Ran concentrated on her spiritual energies as she put her weight on her right foot and torqued her body. As she spun, she leaned in heavily on her right leg, extending the range of her spinning back heel kick further then it would seem she should be able to manage. But the length of her kick wasn't what would make this strike count.

She could feel the burning heat in her leg as her chi gathered and released, then the sudden flare of heat in the air as her left foot burst into flame just before slamming into Asakura's face.

Completing her spin, Ran drew her leg back and fell back into a ready stance, quite pleased with the effect of her strike. Shiro had hit the ground hard, visibly injured by her attack even though he was already starting to get up.

* * *

_Sonnova FUCK._ Shiro bit back the cursing that rang through his mind as he tried to recover his equilibrium after Ran's attack. If he had any doubts left about her placement straight into Advanced, they were gone now. _Bitch can channel chi, huh? Alright, if that's how it's gonna go down..._

"Whew." Shiro heard Julian's whistle from the sideline as he pulled himself up, "You know, I was just thinking about how hot she is."

"...Jules? Shut it." Shiro groaned at his roommate even as his attention was on his opponent. She was moving in on him, likely trying to press the attack now that she had landed a heavy hit. _We'll see about that._

Instead of standing all the way up, Shiro suddenly dropped back down the mat, spun his legs towards the approaching Ran and snapped them together in a scissor kick sweep intended to bring her down to the mat with him where he could use his unusual advantage in size against her.

But as his legs crossed, he didn't feel them connect with anything.

_...crap._

* * *

Sakura raised an eyebrow as Ran gracefully hopped over Shiro's sweep and kicked him in the face again. Though this time without the fire.

Beside her, Julian winced, "Ooh, he's gonna feel that one in the morning."

Unable to resist chiming in with a jibe, Paulette added, "I think he's feeling it quite thoroughly right now."

"That's enough from the peanut gallery," Sakura quietly reprimanded them for their heckling, though she knew it wouldn't stick longer then a few moments.

"Ah, sorry." Paulette apologized quietly, "But...you know, that move looked a bit familiar."

"There is a reason for that," Sakura confirmed, quietly pleased that someone had started to pick up on Ran's techniques, "I'll explain it later." _That fire kick wasn't hers, though. Ran developed that on her own. No wonder Chun Li sent her to me. _

Now, Sakura let her attention shift from Qiao Ran to her oldest student. Shiro was quite solidly getting beaten here, which she knew meant he was about to reach his most dangerous. _That boy's like a caged animal. The worst thing you can do is back him into a corner. Hmm,_ a small smile came to her lips as she considered Shiro's options, _I wonder...no, there's no need to wonder. He'll use it. She's not the only one who needs to use everything she has here. _

* * *

Shiro's vision swam. Two hits to the head in rapid succession was a little more then he was used to taking, and it didn't exactly help that Ran kicked HARD.

Without waiting for his spatial awareness to fully recover, Shiro simply rolled back away from Ran as fast as he could. He needed space. He needed it badly.

He hated retreating.

His glasses had fallen off as he rolled, shaken loose by the blows to the head, but he let them go. It didn't matter. Not now that he knew she used chi.

As he pulled himself to his feet, Ran moved towards him again. He felt her approach more then saw it, the entire room was a blur to him now and it wasn't just from the kicks to the head. Shiro really was legally blind without his glasses on. But he didn't need them to know where Ran was. When he focused on it, he could feel the chi moving through her body, and when she tried for that fire kick again, he would feel it gathering in her foot before she struck. He would be ready.

But she didn't rush in like he expected. Instead, she stopped close to where he had been a moment ago and kicked something towards him. A familiar blurry outline came into view as it slid across the mat even as her voice called out calmly.

"Your glasses. You can put them back on."

Pity. She was pitying him. Shiro's lip began to curl in anger at the thought. She hadn't won yet. She had no reason, no right, to go easy on him like this.

"Fuck 'em." he grunted out in reply even as he kicked his own glasses off to the side of the mat.

He couldn't see her face, but he hoped her reaction to that was shocked. He hoped she had no idea what to think or say about that. Headgames were his best weapon right now. Keep her mentally off balance long enough for him to get his second wind. It wouldn't take him long.

He didn't feel her moving closer. She was hesitating. Good, that's what he wanted. She spoke again, asking the obvious question, "If you don't need them, why didn't you take them off before the match?"

Shiro didn't let the smile he was feeling show outwardly. She was the honorable type, she'd give him time to answer. He stood up straight, taking a second to get his breathing completely back under control before he responded, putting all the contempt he could into his voice, "Just to fuck with your head."

Now he really wished he could see her face. But he could feel her reaction, the flow of chi through her body increased, and it started to gather in her leg. This time he did smile, even as he focused his own power into his hands, forming his chi into a barrier around his fists.

She moved in towards him, and he kept his attention on the feeling of chi in her foot. He knew where it was, he could feel it's motion. As she kicked he met her attack head on with a fierce punch, "Kekkaiken!"

* * *

Pain lanced through Ran's leg as Shiro's fist connected with her foot. It must have had something to do with that white aura she saw flash around his fist, but his hand didn't give at all to the force of her attack. In fact, he was grinning like it didn't hurt him in the slightest. But for her, that felt like kicking a steel wall.

As quickly as she could manage, Ran jumped backwards. She didn't know how that had happened, or what that white energy around his hand was, but it was quite clear that he met attack with his and his won. Whatever that was, she needed to avoid it.

But Shiro wasn't letting her retreat. Even as she jumped back, he lunged towards her with a powerful right that she avoided by mere fractions of an inch, then followed up with a left that she managed to block...for all the good that did. Taking the blow on the arm was better then taking it in the gut, but was still like trying to block a sledgehammer.

Ran ducked back again, still trying to get away. Somehow the tables had been completely turned, she went from being on the attack to completely on the defensive, while Shiro had completely abandoned his earlier caution to turn hyper aggressive and throw wild punch after wild punch. She had to keep evading, she didn't have the strength to try and block those hits nor the time to attempt a counter. All she could do was keep dodging and hope he made some mistake she could use.

* * *

_Kekkaiken, the Barrier Punch. The strongest technique any of my students have managed to perform so far...and he developed it completely on his own._ Sakura moved her focus back to Ran now that Shiro had drawn on that technique. She knew what he would be doing now, the question was how would Qiao Ran try to counter it?

The Kekkaiken had it's weaknesses, but Ran wouldn't know of them yet. Shiro couldn't keep it active for long, hence the wild attacking while he could hold on to it. And once it wore off, most of his energy went with it. He hadn't gotten to the point where he could maintain his normal abilities after the Kekkaiken wore off. That was one of her goals for Shiro, but unless he had somehow developed that ability between yesterday and today she knew it wouldn't be the case here.

She noted with satisfaction that Ran was doing the right thing, though possibly completely by accident. If she could just draw this out long enough, she would have a massive advantage over him the moment he lost his energy.

Of course, that was assuming he didn't just knock her clear into next week first. Smiling a bit, Sakura stopped trying to predict what would happen and just watched the remainder of the match.

* * *

_DAMMIT she's fast!_ Shiro's breathing was ragged and heavy as he swung in one punch after another, trying to connect solid blow on the his nimble opponent. Hell, he'd even take a glancing blow, they'd rock her hard enough with the force he was putting into these swings. But she was just too much faster then him, he hadn't managed to land anything at all after that one she tried to block. She was smart enough not to try that again, too.

_Gah...I can't keep this up much longer..._

* * *

_Aah! He's too fast!_ Qiao Ran was nearly panicking as she ducked, dodged and weaved to avoid Asakura's attacks. She had managed to stay a touch ahead of him, but every dodge was too close for her comfort, and she had no idea how much longer she could keep up this pace.

_I have to do something, this isn't working!_ She furiously thought of something, anything, as she avoided yet another lunging right hook. _...that's it! He's moving forward with every swing, so if I can flip over him, he'll keep going a bit and I'll get some room to maneuver._

Hopping back from another swing, Ran crouched down and sprang up in an arc, sailing right over Shiro's head and landing neatly behind him. Spinning back towards him, she saw that his attack had indeed carried him forward just a couple steps, but that was some space she hadn't had before. _I did it! Now to take him down._

* * *

Shiro was confused for a moment as he felt Ran's chi move...up? Then it hit him, she had alot of leg power and was fast, of course she was acrobatic enough to jump over his head. _Shoulda seen that coming._

He spun to face where he knew she was, though he could hardly see even her outline at this point. His vision had gone past blurry and into near-completely obscured thanks to the strain of keeping the kekkaiken active. On top of that, even the simple act of turning around was making him dizzy. He knew he didn't have much left. _One shot...I've got one shot left. This had better work. _

Crouching low, he put a final burst of energy into his charge, rushing towards Ran with his right fist held down and back, ready to throw his last strike. As he moved, he braced himself for impact. She was going to counter, and it was going to connect. He couldn't spare the time or energy to dodge. He just had to hope his momentum didn't get broken, and that he hit her back harder.

Shiro cringed as the expected kick hit him. Right in the side of the head, the third blow he'd taken there in one match. It hurt like hell, but it didn't knock him down, or even enough to the side to stop him. Bringing his fist forward, he rose from his crouching charge into a variation on a very famous spinning uppercut, and as he felt his punch connect he accompanied it with a kiai shout...

* * *

"SHOU'OKEN!"

Sakura's jaw nearly hit the ground as she saw Shiro slam into his opponent with her own signature technique. His form wasn't perfect, but it was good enough to carry poor Ran into the air and drop her unceremoniously on the mat. _When did he learn THAT!_

While Ran landed flat on her back, Shiro landed on his feet...and immediately collapsed down onto his hands and knees, the white aura of the kekkaiken flickering out of existence. He wasn't breathing so much as heaving and gasping for air, and she knew he couldn't fight a stiff breeze in this state. Standing up, she looked at Ran's face and saw that her eyes were still open, so she made a decision.

"This fight is over." Sakura announced, then addressed her newest student, "Ran, if you can stand up in the next six seconds, you win. If not, Shiro does. One...two..."

* * *

Qiao Ran was still conscious. Just...not by much. She heard her sensei's voice but it took her a moment to puzzle out what she said through the fog of pain and exhaustion clouding her mind.

"Three..."

_Oh no..._ Ran tried to push down on the mat to pry herself up, but the strength had left her arms.

"...four..."

She pushed regardless, unwilling...or perhaps unable, to give up. She knew she could stand. She had to. She couldn't lose her first match, especially not to someone as crude as him! She just couldn't!

"...five..."

Ran managed to push herself a couple of inches up...but her hand slipped out from under her and she hit the mat again, her consciousness slipping away even as she realized she had lost. _...no..._

* * *

"Six." Sakura sighed as she finished counting, "Shiro Asakura wins this match. Good fight, both of you."

Shiro managed to force out something resembling a laugh and mumbled, "...damn right I did..."

Sakura frowned, "Shiro, we'll talk later. For now, Julian, help him to the shower before he throws up on the mat again. And Paulette, carry Ran to her bed, carefully. I'll meet you in your room with the first aid kit."

Her other two students nodded in response and proceeded to follow her instructions.

* * *

"Ah, back to the land of the living are we?"

Paulette's voice greeted Ran as her eyes flickered open, but she wasn't really comforted by that. She didn't want to face her roommate right now. She didn't really want to face anyone after getting beaten that badly.

When she didn't respond, Paulette sighed, "Well, at least somewhat. Miss Kasugano told me to go get her when you woke up, so are you alive enough to talk?"

Ran winced. She wanted to face her sensei right now even less, but refusing would be impossibly rude. So, she nodded a bit weakly at Paulette's question and tried to mentally prepare herself for the worst as her roommate slipped out to fetch her teacher.

A few minutes later, they returned. Ran tried to push herself up to greet her sensei, but Sakura very gently and firmly pushed her right back down. "Oh no you don't. I've already got two students who push themselves far past what they should for pride's sake, I don't need a third."

Not having much choice in the matter, Ran allowed herself to be pushed back down. She felt like she should say something about her poor performance, but she couldn't think of anything that didn't sound like excuses. So she nodded meekly and waited for her sensei to scold her.

Sakura pulled the chair over from the desk and sat down next to the bed, nodding to Paulette still hovering at the doorway before addressing Ran further, "Paulette, go get her a glass of water please."

Feeling more then guilty about having to be taken care of as much as she already had, Ran tried to protest, "It's...okay, I'm not thirsty..."

But Paulette chuckled, "That was her polite way of telling me to get lost so she could talk to you in private. I'll just go get myself a glass then."

Sakura cast a long suffering half-glare at the doorway and the large girl's retreating form before turning back towards Ran, "Ignore her, please. Anyway, that was an impressive showing, Ran. You're better then I suspected, even knowing your background."

Ran blinked, not quite sure what she was hearing, "But...I lost..."

As soon as she said it, she knew it was the wrong thing to say. The look that her teacher gave her only confirmed it, "I really hope you weren't coming in here expecting to beat my best student in a no-holds-barred match right from the beginning."

Unfortunately, Ran realized that's effectively what she had been expecting of herself, without any thought to how insulting that mindset was to Kasugano-sensei or the other students.

"Well, my most advanced student at least," Sakura continued, giving Ran the time to recover from her embarrassment. "Shiro could stand to do considerably more listening before I'd call him a good 'student', but he's an incredible fighter. But enough of that, how are you feeling? Head a little fuzzy?"

Ran thought about it, realized thinking was hard, and bobbed her head yes.

Sakura smiled, "That means the pain medicine is working. You'll get familiar with that feeling pretty quickly I'd bet." Then getting more serious, she leaned forward in her chair to make eye contact with her student. Ran didn't really want to meet her eyes, she was still too embarrassed about multiple things, but she couldn't just look away either.

"We don't normally go all out like that here," her teacher continued, "that's usually just for when I want to test you. But even our normal lessons here involve a lot of pain. That's how I do things. You won't be learning forms and doing specific exercises here, we do things more...trial and error, really. You won't succeed at everything you try, and you won't win every fight you have. If you think you're somehow supposed to, then you need to get over that mindset quickly. Do you understand that?"

Taking a deep breath, Ran nodded once sharply and decided to answer honestly, "I...I'll try, Kasugano-senei."

That made Sakura chuckle, "You're a perfectionist, I can tell. Alright, I'm going to let you get some rest then. If you need anything, ask Paulette for it. And don't be shy about it either, it'll be your turn to help her when she gets hurt. And since I'm sure you're curious," she added as she stood up to leave, "you can ask her about Shiro's kekkaiken when you're feeling up to it, she's been on the wrong side of it more then once herself."

Ran quietly nodded again, not saying anything as her sensei left the room. She had a lot to think about, starting with going over that fight in her mind from beginning to end, looking for anything she should have done differently.

* * *

As Sakura walked out of the room, she smirked to catch Paulette waiting just a bit off to the side in the hall, but since she had a glass of water in hand to prove she hadn't just been eavesdropping the whole time, Sakura let it slide and simply nodded to her that it was alright to go back in.

As Paulette moved past her into the room, Sakura paused a bit herself. A moment later her smirk broke into a full smile as she heard Paulette's voice start describing Shiro's technique. _I figured as much. Not wasting any time at all, is she?_

She chuckled a bit at the thought as she left the girls to their talk and went to go make herself a pot of tea. _Well, I won't even try to pretend I was any better at that age._

_

* * *

_

Author's Footnote: Well, I hope the fact that I rushed this out in four days wasn't too apparent. I was intending to do a Sword and Shadow chapter this month, but suddenly it was the 27th and I hadn't done a thing yet, and that story takes me a bit longer to write then simple fight scenes.


	3. Chapter 3: Hitting the Town

Chapter 3: Hitting the Town

* * *

"Feeling up to an excursion?"

Ran startled a bit, but managed not to slip as her roommate's loud voice shook her out of her relaxed state. "Huh?"

Paulette chuckled at Ran's reaction, then explained as she got the water running for her own morning shower, "No training today, we've got some stuff to do out in the city. Have you been out to look around yet?"

With a bit of embarrassment, Ran had to shake her head, "Ah, no. I haven't really thought about it."

"Well you're missing out then," Paulette offered with a grin, "Kanazawa's a fun place, especially if you like Japanese history or good seafood. It's a college town, so I swear there's as many restaurants as there are residences sometimes. And Shiro has some friends who know all the best ones, too."

The idea of someone with Shiro's personality having friends made Ran a bit skeptical, but she didn't say anything about that. Instead she asked, "Ah, what is it that we need to accomplish in the city then?"

"Dunno," Paulette shrugged, "Miss Kasugano caught me on my way in here and told me that we both need to go see her after we wash up because we're heading out today."

Ran nodded, and let the conversation lapse as she finished her shower and her roommate started her own in earnest.

* * *

Paulette knew her teacher's schedule, or at least as much of one as she had, fairly well by now so tracking her down with Qiao Ran in tow wasn't very difficult. They found her out back in the exercise yard, doing vertical sit-ups from one of the horizontal bars.

The fluid ease with which she performed such a difficult exercise gave Paulette a tinge of envy, but that was a feeling she was used to, especially around Miss Kasugano, so she shrugged it off and made a conscious effort to keep her tongue in check as she waved to get her teacher's attention.

Sakura must have seen, since she neatly folded herself off the bar and landed with an easy grace, then walked over towards them, "Has Paulette filled you in, Ran?"

Ran tilted her head a bit, not quite a yes or a no and managed, "Um, just that we're going out in the city."

"Well that's all you told me, so I couldn't exactly give her any details." Paulette found herself noting with a bit of irritation at the hinted implication she should have done more. She regretted saying it as soon as the words came out of her mouth, but Sakura didn't seem to take offense so she counted that one as a pass.

Instead, Sakura simply nodded, "Well, this was something I wanted to tell you at the same time. Your mission today," she turned to Paulette specifically, "is to take Qiao Ran here down to Yuka's to design and get fitted for a new fighting costume."

Beside her, Ran sighed and asked, "Kasugano sensei, you never did explain what the problem is with the one I have now?"

Paulette raised an eyebrow, but kept quiet a bit to let the two of them work this one out.

"Alright Ran," Sakura began, "don't take this the wrong way here. But the one you have now is entirely too much like what Chun Li used to wear. It makes you look like an imitator, and it doesn't help that your style resembles hers."

_Right!_ Paulette finally connected the dots and figured out where she recognized some of Ran's moves from her match with Shiro from. Many of her kicks and jumps looked very similar to ones she'd seen Chun Li use in her old competition videos.

"But..." Ran protested, "of course it looks like hers, she gave it to me!"

_...what._ Paulette blinked at the simple matter-of-fact way her roommate said that. Then her eyebrows nearly went into her hairline at how her teacher responded.

"That's just it, Ran." Sakura said with a soft smile, "do you want people to think of you as yourself, or as Chun Li's daughter?"

Ran was quiet for a moment after that question, while Paulette realized the expression on her own face must have been priceless as Sakura flicked her eyes to her and grinned wider as she noted, "I see you two hadn't quite gotten around to talking about where you're from yet?"

Blushing, Ran stammered out, "I...I wasn't trying to hide anything. I just...I hadn't been here long and...I didn't want...um..."

_She didn't want me treating her any differently because she's related to someone famous._ Paulette was able to finish the thought. Her roommate might be shy, but the girl had an expressive face and with six siblings Paulette was quite practiced in reading people. Taking a bit of pity on the girl, she smiled and waved it off, "Don't worry about that, alright? Julian's parents own like half of Mexico or something and I don't treat him any differently for it, though I won't make any promises about not fangirling out if she comes to visit."

Ran blinked a moment, then tried to choke back a giggle, probably at the mental image her gigantic roommate going into fangirl mode. Paulette relaxed a bit at that, and when she caught her teacher's slight nod, which told her that she'd said the right thing.

Wanting to change the subject, at least somewhat, Paulette turned to her teacher to confirm her task, "So just take her to see miss Shiida? Is there anything else we should do while out then? I could give her at least a half decent tour of town if we have the whole day."

"That was the other idea, yes," Sakura nodded, before fishing around in her pocket and handing Ran a card. "Chun Li had me set up an account for you that she put some money in, so while you're out and about if you see anything you want to get you do have some funds. Be mindful of the space concerns in your room, but with that in mind I would like you to do whatever you need to make it feel like home."

Ran took the card and bobbed her head.

As the subject of money came up, Paulette had begun to get an idea. Which she took the opportunity to broach to her teacher, "Well, if we have the whole day, then can I ask if you could spare Julian as well? He still owes me a meal from our bet last week and this would be a good time to call it in."

Sakura stared at her for a long moment before sighing, "Again? You two really need to knock that off. I'm all for some competition between my students, but I really don't like the betting."

"Talk to him about that," Paulette insisted, "he's the one who keeps offering the wagers. I just keep winning them."

Shaking her head in exasperation, Sakura decided not to press the point for now and let Paulette have her request, "Just don't let it get personal. And sure, I was planning on working with Shiro for most of today now that he's back in condition to practice hard, so if Julian wants to go he can."

Taking that with a grin, Paulette nodded to her roommate, "Alright, you head back to the room to grab our coats and purses while I get Julian. Sound good?"

Ran nodded, then paused, "Ah...I don't have a purse."

"We'll fix that while we're out then, just grab mine for now."

* * *

"So you're Chun Li's daughter?" Julian asked as the three of them made their way towards the part of town that held their destination.

It shouldn't have surprised Ran that Paulette had already told him, since her roommate had already admitted to enjoying gossip, but she still found herself a little taken off balance by the suddenness of the question. "Um.."

"I know, it surprised me too," Paulette noted, not giving Ran too much time to respond herself, "I hadn't heard anything about her having kids, and I've been following street fighting news religiously since I was ten."

"Well," Julian considered, "quite a few celebrities do their best to keep their families out of the public eye. It wouldn't surprise me at all if she went that route."

The direction the conversation was starting to turn was one of the reasons Qiao Ran tried to avoid making a big deal out of who her adoptive mother was. _Maybe they'll find something else to talk about soon?_

"Oooh, that is a good point," Paulette conceded, "I hadn't thought of that."

"Most of you celebrity-stalker types don't." Julian added with a dry chuckle.

Ran's eyes widened a bit as he said that _...my roommate is a stalker?_

But Paulette responded with a snort, "You make me sound like some kind of paparazzi, I'll have you know I don't even own a camera."

"And yet you always seem to be the first to know anything about anyone famous."

"There's this miraculous invention called the internet," Paulette returned Julian's sarcasm in full force, "you can check all kinds of sites on it that have such an amazing wealth of information. Why, did you know every major news organization has it's own web page? Unreal, isn't it?"

Julian winced, and held up a hand to concede defeat and forestall any further taunting.

Not that this helped him. Paulette only grinned and continued on in what could only be described as a chipper deadpan, "I mean really, didn't you learn all about this in those fancy business classes you took, Mr. 'I have two bachelors degrees'? I know your parents have money to spare, but spending that much on an education that doesn't even cover basics like the web is just wasteful. They should probably look into getting that tuition back."

"Stop." Julian sighed, but seemed to be chuckling at the same time, "You win."

"Of course I do."

It finally occurred to Ran, in watching this exchange, that they were probably just teasing one another. And then she felt fairly stupid for even thinking for a moment that Paulette was an actual stalker. _Well...at least they've found something else to talk about._ Of course she had no idea how long that would last, so she decided to speak up with a question of her own, "Um, so where are we going first?"

"Business before pleasure," Julian immediately replied, "which takes us to the residence of the lovely miss Yuka Shiida, costuming expert extraordinaire."

"It'll take us about twenty minutes to get there," Paulette added, "but between here and there are some places you'll want to remember. Actually, like that little shop right there, see? That right there is the only ice cream parlor in easy walking distance, and fortunately for us it's got really fantastic ice cream. Not many flavors, but what they have is delicious."

Ran laughed at Paulette's enthusiasm, and followed along as her two fellow students showed her the points of interest on the way. Her uneasiness over the initial topic of conversation was soon forgotten under a deluge of places to see, commentary about them, and Paulette and Julian continuing to tease one another at nearly every opportunity.

* * *

Qiao Ran found herself more then a little overwhelmed. No sooner had Paulette knocked on the door of this small house, then an impossibly energetic woman ushered them all inside and set about accosting Ran with a tape measure. Before she knew it, she had been dragged away from the others, stripped down and was being interrogated about her favorite colors and styles while getting her measurements taken. This is not something she would normally have just gone along with, she was quite sure. But the suddenness of it all had left her simply too stunned to object.

Once she had her bearings from the sudden flurry of activity, Ran found herself nearly as taken aback by the room she was in. Costumes and outfits of all shapes, sizes and amazing colors filled the room, on racks, on tables, on stands and mannequins, everywhere. But even more amazing was the detail and level of intricacy that was readily apparent in the outfits even from first glance. Ran had never really considered herself to be all that concerned with fashion, but she was still impressed. _She must really love what she does._

"Excuse me?"

"Huh?" Ran blinked at the sharp tone that shook her out of her thoughts.

"I asked if you like brighter or softer oranges. Are we talking orange like the fruit, or something more like coral or salmon?"

"Oh, um...I think I like brighter colors more? I'm sorry, I was looking at all your outfits and I got distracted." Ran apologized sincerely.

This got a smile from the woman, "Well, since it was admiring my handiwork, I suppose I can excuse the lapse. Just don't make a habit of it."

Ran nodded, and made a point of paying closer attention while the woman finished her work.

* * *

Paulette grinned as Ran came back out, looking as confused as she'd ever seen the poor girl, and decided to make things a touch easier on her by handling the business end of it herself. Approaching Yuka, she waved to get the designers attention, "So, miss Shiida, did you get what you needed?"

Yuka nodded thoughtfully, "Oh, of course. I think I can have something done...say by this time next week, no problems at all. Maybe a couple variations, always good to have spares. Tell Sakura I'll have them delivered and just send her the bill online, as usual."

"Alright then. Thanks again for seeing us on such short notice." Paulette quickly led Ran back outside to where Julian was waiting before miss Shiida was inspired to ask about Paulette's own wardrobe.

Once safely back out on the street, Paulette actually breathed a small sigh of relief, "Aaaand safe."

Julian chuckled, while Ran looked up at her incredulously, "Is she always like that?"

Paulette laughed, "The woman is practically a fashion hurricane, a natural force of sewing and design. She can even make me look feminine and Shiro look respectable, so I'm in complete awe of her powers."

"Both effects that are lost the moment either one opens their mouth," Julian couldn't help but say, "but to have it happen at all is surely some kind of minor miracle."

"Quiet, you." Paulette replied automatically, then thought better of it, "Actually, on the subject of open mouths, this sounds like a brilliant time for lunch, hmm? And we can do some shopping after that."

With a nod, Julian asked, "I was waiting for that to come up. Well then, a deal's a deal, where am I taking you?"

"Actually," the large woman put a hand on her roommate's shoulder, "I was going to leave that up to Ran here. What are you in the mood for?"

The contact startled Ran a bit, and she pulled away before asking, "Um...you said they have good seafood here?"

Julian answered, "Some of the best in all of Japan. Shrimp especially is something of a local specialty. There's also really good sushi if you'd rather have that."

Paulette almost laughed at how Ran's face visibly brightened up a bit at the mention of sushi. _I swear she's so childlike sometimes. Jumpy, though. I wonder if that's just how she is or if something happened..._

She shook off those thoughts as she prompted, "So can I take it from that look on your face that you're a fan of sushi?"

Ran blushed a bit, but nodded, "Um, yes!"

"Then sushi it shall be," Julian gestured onward and led the way.

* * *

The Ogawa-ya restaurant was the best place Julian had been to for sushi thus far in the city, and it was in a nice location near a whole mess of other shops as well, so that was where he took the ladies for lunch.

As they walked, he stayed a bit ahead of the other two and just listened to their chattering, occasionally chiming in where appropriate. Well, listened to Paulette's chattering and Qiao Ran's occasional responses. This was the first he'd really spent any time around the girl, and it was interesting to see what kind of dynamic she was going to bring to the group. He knew where he stood with Shiro, and also with Paulette...at least for now. But this new girl? He had to admit that he was thrown for a bit of a loop by her. He'd always thought of fighters as aggressive, confident people. Like, well, himself, Shiro, Paulette and of course Sakura.

But Ran wasn't like that at all. Skittish at times, easily bewildered at others, the girl honestly seemed like the exact opposite of the rest of them in some way. She frankly came across as quite sheltered, despite her obvious abilities, which just made things more confusing. Juilan wasn't even sure how old she actually was...and couldn't think of a polite way to ask without giving Paulette a pile of ammunition to throw at him as she will. Which she would. Quickly and with great gusto.

_Possibly with even more effort then usual_, he thought as he stole a glance back at the girls. Julian hadn't known Paulette even had a protective streak, but he supposed that must have simply been because she didn't have anyone who triggered it before. Here it was in full force with her new roommate, though. Her warning from this morning made that clear enough. _Break her heart and lose use of my legs, huh? _He'd have cracked a joke, except he could tell how deadly serious she was.

Their arrival at Ogawa-ya tabled his thoughts for the time being, and he opened the door for the ladies, "Here we are. Excellent sushi, comfortable seating, and a good selection of things besides sushi since if I remember correctly, you do not care much for raw fish," he smiled at Paulette.

Paulette opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Ran suddenly looking horrified, "Oh no! You don't like sushi? I'm so sorry! You should have said something, we can go have something else!"

Whatever she had been about to say to Julian was lost, as Paulette sighed and actually laughed, "Seriously? You heard what he said, I can just get something else here."

"Are...you sure?" Ran asked, clearly both hopeful and feeling guilty for it.

"If I wasn't going to be alright with whatever you picked, I wouldn't have let you pick." Paulette stated quite simply, which took Ran aback a bit. But she didn't have time to say anything else as Paulette pushed right past both her and Julian to go inside the restaurant.

Julian offered a smile to the conflicted Ran, "A creature of sarcasm, that one. Except for when she's not. Have fun figuring her out."

Ran blinked at him, but didn't say anything.

"Come on, before she gets..."

"What is taking you two so long, are we eating here or not?" Paulette's voice called out from inside.

"...impatient." Julian finished with an amused sigh. "Shall we?"

* * *

"SHOU'OKEN!" Shiro shouted as he performed the spinning uppercut yet again under his teacher's instruction.

Sakura nodded, "Better. Not perfect yet, but better."

Shiro shook his head and wiped off the latest layer of sweat gathered on his face, "Right. You make this look alot easier then it is."

"I have been doing it for years," Sakura noted a bit dryly. "Also, don't try to do it like I do. You aren't built the same as I am, you can't use my moves the same way I do."

He nodded. That was one of the core precepts of her teaching, and one he latched onto like he had never managed to with an instructor before. She didn't teach him to do things her way. She helped him figure out how to do them HIS way.

"Caught your breath?" Sakura asked, after letting him rest a moment.

Shiro nodded again, "Yeah, I'm good."

"Alright. Do it," she instructed, "Kekkaiken, then shou'oken. At me."

That last part made him eye her wearily. For all that she was a pro and he was still just a student, she had to know getting hit by anything he threw out while backed by the kekkaiken would hurt like hell, even if she managed to block it. Which told him that he was about to get an object lesson. And it was probably going to hurt.

_Fine by me though. No teacher like pain._ Another sentiment he lived by. Pain was nature's way of saying don't do that. If getting hit hurts, stop getting hit. Or learn to operate through the pain.

Taking his stance, Shiro took a deep breath and centered himself...then summoned up his chi for the second time that day, "Kekkaiken!" As the white barrier formed around his hands, he could feel the drain on his energy kick in already. He was still too weak to hold this kind of power for long.

Before he lost any more, he took off into a charging crouch, then surged upward with the uppercut, fully intending on knocking his sensei's block off if she was dumb enough to let him connect, "SHOU'OKEN!"

With what seemed like careless ease, Sakura sidestepped the blow, letting Shiro's momentum carry him right past her...then backhanded him in the back of the head hard enough to make his vision blur.

He hit the ground hard, but tried to force himself back to his feet as fast as he could.

"Stop. Let it go." Sakura cut him off before he was all the way up.

"...I..." Shiro gasped out. He knew what she meant, but it was hard. So hard. He tried to unclench his right fist, but his fingers ignored him, they wouldn't budge.

"Let. It. Go." Sakura's tone grew more sharp, though she didn't approach.

With all the willpower he could manage, Shiro finally forced his hands open, and let the power of the kekkaiken leave him. Once it was gone, he collapsed back onto the ground, panting with exhaustion.

"Quicker then last time." Sakura noted, as she walked over and took a seat in the little folding chair she kept in the sparring room. "Get up when you can, but don't push yourself. Unless you're going to pass out?"

From some people that line might have pissed Shiro off. He didn't like people pitying him, worrying about him. He was stronger then that, dammit. But she knew that, and right now it was time for business. All she wanted was to know if he would be conscious to hear what she had to say. If she was worried, she didn't let it creep into her tone, which was enough for him at least. Forcing out some words through the haze, he assured his teacher, "I'm...alright..."

"Alright. Give me some indication if you think you're about to slip out." After Shiro managed a weak nod, Sakura continued, "First thing's first, I'm really suspecting that the kekkaiken is just too advanced for you right now, Shiro. It's impressive that you developed it almost completely on your own, but after that match with Ran and after today's training, I think I want you to give it a rest for a bit."

_What?_ Shiro couldn't believe what he was hearing. Stop using it? That was what gave him the edge over the others. That was his trump card, his proof that he, not Paulette, not Julian, and not the new girl, was the best student here. But even more then that, backing off because something was too much for him? Bullshit. That's not how you get stronger, that's not how he does things.

As if she could hear his mental process, Sakura let out a deep sigh, "It's not just about the drain on your body and energy it creates, either. When you use the kekkaiken, you get clumsy, you rush everything. Your adrenaline controls you, and you let it because all of your willpower is tied up in trying to maintain the barrier. In short, your technique takes a nosedive, which will be more of a hindrance in the long run then the strength it gives you. Sure, you can use it to beat the others. But they're only students as well. Anyone who won't panic in the face of it, such as any professional street fighter? Will figure out the weaknesses it gives you in seconds and will have no trouble exploiting them."

Shiro listened to the lecture, not that he had much choice. He wasn't quite hurt enough to pass out, but he wasn't ready to get up and move yet either, so he laid there on the ground and listened. He wanted to argue, but didn't even have the energy for that at the moment.

"To put it bluntly, if you try to use what's supposed to be your greatest weapon in a serious fight right now, the very act of doing so will be what makes you lose." His teacher finished, with great emphasis on the last few words.

That pissed him off, which gave him the strength he needed to at least speak up, "What...just give up then? Fuck that..."

There was an audible smack as Sakura facepalmed at her student's attitude. "When did I say anything about giving up? I said you needed to back off of it for a bit. Take a break, go awhile without using it, while we work on other things. Or are you somehow convinced getting a handle on your kekkaiken is the only thing you have left to learn?"

He didn't have an answer for that.

"I swear," Sakura continued her minor rant, "you and Paulette both. I say to try something different, or to put a problem on the back burner for awhile, and all the two of you hear is giving up and failure. I can't teach you if you refuse to admit that the way you instinctively try to do everything may not always be the right way."

Shiro regained more of his energy and managed to push himself up to at least a sitting position, "What happened to teaching us to do things our way?"

Now she rolled her eyes, "Your way means the way that actually works for you, not just the way you want to do it. Learn the difference. We've had this conversation at least three times."

He remembered, but didn't agree. He knew what his way was, no matter what she said.

"And I'm going to make one thing very clear to you right now, Shiro." Sakura's voice leveled out, no longer sounding irritated as much as very firm, "I know you like to practice on your own. And you don't even let me know everything you're working on`. Normally, that's fine. However you will not continue to use the kekkaiken in private until I'm ready to work on it with you. I don't like giving orders, but I'm giving you one now. Don't do it."

Shiro snorted as he pulled himself up to his feet. She didn't like giving orders? Well he didn't like taking them, so that's fine.

"I'm serious, Shiro." his teacher emphasized, voice softening a touch, "I put up with alot of crap from you, and let most of it slide. This time I'm not joking. If you can't even do this, I'm going to have to remove you from the school."

The threat, even delivered in such a manner, hit him like a shot in the gut. He almost fell back to his knees from the combination of shock and his already sketchy balance.

"I don't want to do that, since I know very well where that would leave you. But you need to focus on something besides that for awhile. It's dangerous to you, and you need to learn more control without it before you can control yourself with it." Sakura moved up and put a hand on her student's shoulder to steady him, ignoring his attempt at jerking away, "The shou'oukens you used without the kekkeiken were far better then the one you used with it, and it's not just that. Your technique in general is better when you aren't using it. We need to work on building up your willpower, maybe try some less demanding chi techniques to get you better used to channeling it, so you can hold that and still have enough focus left to do more then attack wildly. So until I think you're ready, we're ignoring the kekkaiken itself for awhile."

Finally she let him pull away and stand under his own power. He didn't respond to anything she said. How could he? She was telling him to abandon his prized technique, the strongest thing any of them could do and one he invented completely on his own. And 'for his own good' no less. He hated that kind of sentiment, with the fury of a million suns.

Unable to argue, but unwilling to concede anything, he assumed the lesson was over and began to trudge his way towards the door.

"Go take a shower and get some rest, you need it. And...look," Sakura sighed once again, a sound Shiro had become fairly accustomed to, "I'm not going to tell Julian about this, or have anyone spy on you or anything like that. I've told you where my line is, and I'm going to trust you not to cross it."

Shiro ignored her and just kept walking.

* * *

Later in the evening, Sakura sat at the table in what passed for a dining room up on the second floor of her school, the area that served as a home for herself and her advanced class, and enjoyed a cup of tea to relax while the housekeeper was putting dinner together.

She hadn't seen Shiro since the lesson earlier, but that didn't surprise her. He probably wouldn't even be up for dinner, knowing him. The boy had a tendency to brood whenever things didn't go his way, but she was sure he'd get over it eventually. At least she greatly hoped he would, since the training idea she was kicking around would be of particular benefit for him and she wanted to make sure he got all he could out of it.

Noise from the stairs up caught her attention, and Sakura had to smile at seeing her other three students trudge up the stairs, looking tired but cheerful...and carrying a few bags each. Letting a chuckle escape, Sakura greeted them, "I see you three had fun today?"

Ran bowed in greeting once she noticed her teacher, while Paulette shifted around bags to wave and Julian simply smiled and nodded politely. "Quite," Paulette responded, "and miss Shiida says that she'll have Ran's things done in a week and will send you the bill online."

"Business as usual then," Sakura nodded approvingly. "Well, go ahead and put your things up, dinner should be ready soon."

"Wait, actually," she said as they had started to go, "Paulette, take Ran's bag with you, Ran stay here a moment I have a question for you."

Qiao Ran looked nervous for a moment, but handed her bag to her roommate and walked over to the table.

Sakura waited until the others were gone before asking, "Alright, Ran. That fire kick of yours, can you perform that reliably? Or is it something you're still working on?"

"Ah, well," Ran hedged a bit, "I am still trying to improve it..."

"Not what I was asking," Sakura clarified, "ignoring the actual kick part for now, what I mean is can you create the fire every time you try?"

"Oh, yes. Um, unless I'm very tired or dehydrated."

"Excellent. Now the second question, would you feel up to helping me teach the others how to control and use their chi?" Sakura had to stop herself from laughing at the suddenly wide eyed look her newest student got as she asked that of her, "It's something Julian and Paulette have been working on for awhile, and we're at a bit of a roadblock on it. But you do things differently then I do, so I'm thinking that approaching the problem from a different angle could help."

Ran stammered out, "Um...but, Shiro can...I'm sure he would..."

"Shiro," Sakura cut her off, "has a more powerful technique then you, it's true. But he has issues controlling it. Which is something else I intend to work on. I'm also thinking a change of atmosphere may help, so I hope you enjoyed the city today since we may be taking a trip soon."

"A...trip?" Ran wondered, but didn't have time to ask much more as Paulette and Julian came back in.

"We'll talk about it more later." Sakura smiled, then gestured for everyone to have a seat as they waited for dinner. Keeping half an ear on those three talking about their day, she considered her idea a bit more. _I think a retreat for a couple of days would be good all around. Let Ran interact with the others as a group more, and get us away from distractions so they can focus. I'll just need to get someone to cover my beginners classes for a bit, but that shouldn't be hard. ...here's hoping this doesn't backfire on me._

_

* * *

_

Author's Footnote: And that brings us to the end of chapter three, which introduces Paulette and Julian's PoVs as well as giving a slightly deeper look into Shiro. The original intent was to use Ran's PoV to introduce things and turn it into an ensemble cast from there, with no true main character. Ran is fighting me on this though and very much wants to remain the main character of the piece, so we'll see where it all goes from here. I may just have to give in and let her have her way.

Also, this chapter makes a very special thing for me. The last chapter of 2010, in which I have managed to keep my New Year's Resolution of posting a chapter every month. Which is the first time I have EVER managed to keep a resolution the entire year. Next year will be the same resolution, one chapter every month, with a slight difference. In 2011 I WILL finish Sword and Shadow, my first fiction that has been going entirely too long. I may sneak in a School of Hard Knocks chapter here and there, but Sword and Shadow will be my #1 priority, with this taking #2. If you haven't read it, and like Fire Emblem, go give it a read and by all means, let me know what you think. Thanks for reading this far, and have a happy new year that I hope leads into a fantastic 2011.


End file.
